Tesla shareholders are preparing for one of the most consequential votes in corporate history whether to approve a trillion-dollar compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk. The proposal, set for a final decision at the company’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, could cement Musk’s influence and ensure his continued leadership in steering Tesla’s next phase of innovation.

The plan, first revealed in Tesla’s official filing, would boost Musk’s ownership stake from roughly 12% to over 25%, contingent upon achieving a dozen ambitious performance milestones tied to market capitalization, profit, and product output. Chair Robin Denholm has staunchly defended the package, arguing Musk’s vision remains indispensable to Tesla’s mission of transforming mobility, energy, and automation. Without him, she warned, the company risks losing both momentum and investor confidence.

Musk himself has indicated that maintaining control and direction over Tesla especially its future “robot army” and AI projects is central to his motivation. He has insisted the package is not about personal wealth but long-term alignment. Structured over seven and a half years, the plan’s first tranche would vest once Tesla reaches a $2 trillion valuation, a target that would place it alongside tech titans like Apple and Microsoft in market worth.

However, critics are pushing back forcefully. Influential proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have both recommended rejecting the proposal, citing concerns over its “unprecedented” scale and lack of accountability for Musk’s divided focus across ventures like SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and xAI. ISS further noted that Musk’s financial incentives are already tightly bound to Tesla’s success. Major investors, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, have announced opposition, calling the plan excessive and warning of shareholder dilution.

Conversely, backers of the plan including Florida’s investment officials hail Musk’s track record in generating shareholder value, labeling the package a “gold standard” for performance-based compensation. They argue that Musk’s leadership has made Tesla one of the most transformative companies of the century, pioneering electric vehicles, clean energy solutions, and AI-driven manufacturing.

Despite his visionary reputation, Musk continues to face skepticism over delayed vehicle rollouts and unmet production goals. Critics accuse him of overpromising and underdelivering, while protests in Austin signal discontent over the scale of the award. Activists argue the package represents the overconcentration of wealth and influence, particularly for a man already worth more than $500 billion.

The shareholder vote’s result expected to be announced during the Austin Gigafactory’s annual meeting — could determine far more than a paycheck. It will shape Musk’s future involvement with Tesla, define corporate governance standards in Silicon Valley, and test whether investors still believe the world’s richest man can continue driving humanity’s electric and autonomous future.